The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned four people and 11 entities on Tuesday tied to Cartel del Noreste, targeting a sprawling commercial network that stretches from a quarter-horse racetrack in Tamaulipas to trucking firms and construction companies around Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called it the department's largest action to date against the cartel's financial machinery.
As reported by Reuters, the sanctioned network spans horse racing, construction, trucking and the energy sector, all allegedly used to help finance the cartel. Among those named is Pablo Cesar Guajardo Alvarez, an accused CDN plaza boss in Nuevo Laredo known as Takia, who formerly led the cartel's sicarios. Also sanctioned were Nuevo Laredo businessman Gamaliel Garza Garcia, who was involved in horse racing operations in both the U.S. and Mexico, and his son, who was sanctioned alongside him.
Treasury said the laundering scheme runs through Club La Molienda, a horse racetrack, restaurant and bar in Tamaulipas that officials describe as controlled by the cartel and serving as a hub for its horse-racing activities, per the same Reuters account. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the venue had previously operated a betting partnership with Casino Centenario in Nuevo Laredo, letting casino patrons wager on La Molienda's races until joint U.S.-Mexico regulatory action suspended both operations back in April.
A Decade-Old Laundering Playbook
The horse-racing laundering tactic isn't new for cartel operatives linked to Los Zetas, CDN's predecessor organization. Cartel-linked front companies spent $16 million on U.S. quarter-horse racing operations between 2008 and 2012 and laundered more than $22 million in the process, the report notes. That scheme collapsed in a landmark 2012 case when an indictment accused Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales of setting up the horse operation, which his younger brother operated from a ranch near Lexington, Oklahoma. Mr Piloto won a $1 million prize at Ruidoso Downs. The Guardian reported that the government sought seizure of several horses; Treasury reports that the U.S. government seized 455 horses in June 2012.
CDN was founded by brothers Miguel Ángel and Oscar Omar Treviño Morales as a successor to Los Zetas, the same Reuters report states. The brothers were transferred to the United States in 2025 to face drug trafficking, racketeering and money-laundering charges; Al Jazeera reported that Mexican authorities extradited the pair on February 27, 2025, following federal indictments alleging they continued managing CDN operations from inside Mexican prisons.
Trucking Firm Caught With Cocaine In Brake Drums
Beyond the racetrack, Treasury's investigation also hit Tamex, a trucking company based in Nuevo Laredo, after authorities seized two cocaine shipments linked to the firm hidden inside trailer brake drums, totaling 52 kilograms, per the Reuters account. Sanctioned trucking dispatcher Francisco Javier Inzunza Partida was named alongside the firm, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Construction firms were also part of the sanctioned network. Separately, sanctioned businessman Gamaliel Garza Elías was cited by Treasury officials for personally delivering cash to finance local election campaigns for political candidates favored by the cartel, revealing how commercial profits were allegedly funneled directly into political corruption in the region.
Why Nuevo Laredo Matters For The Border Economy
Cartel del Noreste maintains its primary stronghold in Nuevo Laredo, directly across from Laredo, Texas, which serves as the busiest land port of entry on the U.S. southern border and handles nearly 40 percent of total U.S.-Mexico commercial trade, according to Anadolu Agency. That geography helps explain why trucking firms and other commercial logistics operators have become prime targets for cartel infiltration along the border.
U.S. officials also raised concerns about cartel-linked horse smuggling across the border, with trafficked horses reportedly moving through illegal crossing routes also used for drugs and migrants, Reuters reported last month. A separate Reuters investigation in September found that cartel-managed horse smuggling networks routinely bypass mandatory USDA border veterinary inspections, creating biosecurity risks in Texas where a potential screwworm outbreak could cause up to $1.8 billion in economic damages.
Fourth Round Of Sanctions Under The Trump Administration
Tuesday's sanctions package marks the Treasury Department's fourth major action against Cartel del Noreste during the Trump Administration, following prior enforcement rounds in May 2025 targeting arms traffickers, August 2025 targeting cartel leaders and narco-rapper El Makabelico, and April 2026 targeting border casinos — an action Hoodline covered at the time. That April round sanctioned Casino Centenario in Nuevo Laredo and Diamante Casino in Tampico, along with operator CAMSA and three CDN facilitators.
The State Department designated Cartel del Noreste as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in February 2025. Treasury's October action was taken under Executive Orders 14059 and 13224, as amended. How far that campaign will reach into U.S. quarter-horse stables and buyers, and how aggressively Mexican authorities enforce closures against designated front businesses, remains to be seen.
